Chapter 23 #2
“If you don’t back off, I’ll make sure you don’t get a job in this town, or any town close by. Then your relationship will die a slow death, and I’ll be here to help him pick up the pieces of his broken heart. Like I always am.”
That one hit. I might not believe that she was involved with Josh, but I definitely believed she would do everything possible to ruin my chances of getting a job. And she was right. If I didn’t live here, or anywhere close, things with Josh were over.
“Hey, Hannah. Are you joining Reegan?” Kannon asked, holding out Hannah’s drink.
Hannah smiled at him, a victorious smile because she knew she had won. “Nope. I’m on my way out. Nice to see you, Reegan.”
I glared at her back as she walked away.
“Are you okay?” Kannon asked.
I forced a smile and nodded. My throat was tight, and I was not okay, but I was not going to let Hannah win. “I’m good. Thanks for this. It all looks amazing.”
Kannon beamed. “You’re welcome. I brought you a box and a bag in case you decide to take anything home.”
I chuckled, not feeling the humor at all but not wanting to show him that. “I’m definitely going to need to do that. Thanks, Kannon.”
“You’re welcome.”
I stared at the food I was so excited to eat just a few minutes ago and hated that Hannah was ruining it for me.
Josh told me what she was like, but I never knew she had the kind of influence she claimed to have.
I debated calling Bethany and talking it over with her, but I couldn’t do that. It would be highly unprofessional.
So I had to wait. And hope Hannah was full of it.
“She said what?” Ashlyn screeched when I recounted my interaction with Hannah. “She’s something.”
“Yeah.”
“What are you going to do?”
I exhaled a mirthless laugh. “I have no idea.”
“I think you should ignore her. She can’t possibly have that much influence.”
“I don’t know. Josh said she’s always run off everyone he’s dated, so it sounds like maybe she does.”
“I don’t know that many people who like her. Besides, you can just live with me if you don’t get that job. I don’t mind.”
“I can’t live off you forever. If I don’t get a job, I can’t stay here. But I don’t want to leave.”
“Maybe she’s just trying to scare you. How was the interview, anyway?”
“It was good. Really good. I feel like I clicked with the principal. The school was cute. She even showed me the classroom I would be in if I got the job.”
“It sounds like she’s already made her decision,” Ashlyn said.
I shrugged. “I kind of had that same thought, but I know she needs to check my references and probably interview some other candidates. And if Hannah knows her, none of that might matter.”
“Who’s the principal?”
“Bethany Camara. Do you know her?”
Ashlyn laughed. “Are you serious?”
I nodded, unsure why it was so funny. “That’s what she said. Why?”
“She’s Oscar’s sister-in-law.”
“Josh’s friend Oscar?”
Ashlyn nodded. “I’d be willing to bet Oscar and Josh have a lot more influence on her than Hannah does.”
“I don’t want a job because Josh tells someone to hire me anymore than I want to miss out on a job because Hannah tells her not to hire me.”
“Well, whatever you’re going to do, you need to decide soon because Josh is about to walk in.” Ashlyn slid her gaze past me to the door and pasted on a smile before she waved.
Josh opened the door and walked in. “Hey ladies.”
“Hey,” Ashlyn said. “I’m going to go take a shower so you two can talk.”
“Ash!”
She didn’t say anything else, just walked away, closing the bathroom door a second later.
“What’s going on?” Josh asked, his voice as tight as face.
I exhaled a long breath and nodded toward the water. “Want to sit outside with me?”
Josh nodded once. He was tense. Anxious.
I went to him and slid my arms around his waist. I rested my head on his chest.
He didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around me. He held me close and exhaled, some of the tension leaving his body.
I pulled back and took his hand, leading him outside to where we sat in the mornings.
“Are you ending this? I thought you still had a little time before you needed to go home.”
“I’m not ending this, and I do have time. But it’s more than that.”
“Okay. What’s going on?”
“I met Hannah today.”
His eyebrows pinched together. His head jerked in question. “What does that…? Oh. She convinced you to end things with me. I get it.”
“No, you don’t. She tried to do that. I basically laughed at her when she told me you two reconnected when you dropped Evie off and you were getting back together.”
“That’s a lie,” Josh growled.
“I know. Or I assumed. That’s not who you are. But Hannah didn’t stop there. She…” I looked at him so I could see his reaction. “She threatened to block me from getting a job here.”
Anger was first, followed quickly by surprise, then joy. “You’re moving here?”
I exhaled and nodded. “I want to. I’ve applied for jobs in the area. I had an interview today at Amethyst Bay Elementary School.”
“Oscar’s sister-in-law is the principal there.”
“That’s what Ashlyn just told me.”
Josh dug out his phone. “I’ll call her and tell her to hire you right now.”
“No,” I said, putting my hand on his.
He looked up at me. “Why not?”
“Because that’s not how I want to get a job. If Bethany thinks I’m not the right fit, I don’t want you to tell her I am just because we’re together.”
“But if Hannah—?”
“I’ll deal with it. I’ll deal with Hannah. I’ll go back to MacKellar Cove for a year and keep applying for jobs here if that’s what I need to do. I’m not giving up on moving here because your ex-wife thinks she’s going to get you back.”
“Is that what she said?” Josh’s face turned red, his lips tightening into an angry slash.
“Yes. But she’s not important.”
“She’s not?” Surprise brought his eyes back to me.
“If you’re still in love with her, that’s something I need to know, but—”
Josh slid from his chair and dropped to his knees in front of me.
He grabbed my hands, holding them tightly.
“No. I’m not in love with Hannah anymore.
I haven’t been for years. I love…” He closed his eyes for a second, then looked up at me.
“I love you, Reegan. I know it’s fast, and I know you aren’t in the same place, but I love you. ”
“What? Are you serious?”
He nodded. “I never saw you coming. I wasn’t looking for you, for anyone.
But once you showed up, I couldn’t see anyone but you.
You’ve been here for me in ways no one has, but that’s not why I love you.
I love you because of a million little things.
Things about you that make me want to learn a million more secrets about you. ”
Tears rolled down my face. “I love you, too.”
“Oh, yeah?” His smile turned into a smirk, joy lighting up his features.
I nodded. “I do. I fell for you in the quiet mornings together. In the smiles you gave your daughter. In the way you were there for Christy when she needed you. I fell for you in the million little moments we’ve shared over the last two months.”
He inhaled deeply, inching closer to me. “You’re not scared off by the other women in my life? Evie, Christy, Hannah?”
I shook my head. “Not even a little.”
“Thank God for that,” he whispered against my lips.
Then he sealed our declarations with a kiss that bordered on indecent before we hurried inside.